The exclusive release on Sky Show of ‘Amadeus’, a new Sky Original series after the 1984 masterpiece of the same name, is a great opportunity to delve into the ‘musical biopics’, or the musicians biographical movies, getting back on the life and creative achievement of the most famous musicians.
Musical biopics exist in cinema for a very long time : Amadeus, that as of today remains the cornerstone of that subgenre, was released 1984. It was publicly and critically acclaimed, won 8 Oscars including best film, best actor and best director. But for a while musical biopic just came here and there, from Bird in 1988 (directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Forest Whitaker as Charlie Parker), The Doors in 1991 (Directed by Oliver Stone, starring Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, Walk the Line in 2005 (starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash) to La Vie en Rose in 2007 (starring Marion Cotllard as Edith Piaf). Lots of great movies, but not at a steady pace, and certainly not like an ongoing trend.
The trend started in 2018, with Bohemian Rhapsody. Despite an arguable quality, the film about the life of Freddy Mercury was a huge box-office success and Rami Malek received the Oscar for best actor. And so musical biopic suddenly meant business opportunities triggering a whole wave of new films.
- Maria, about Maria Callas, available on Sky Show
- Love & Mercy, about The Beach Boys, available on Sky Show
- Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, about Bruce Springsteen, on December 23th on Sky Store
- Better Man , about Robbie Williams, on February 18th on Sky Show
- A Complete Unknown, about Bob Dylan, Summer 2026 on Sky Show
- Back to Black, about Amy Winehouse, available on Sky Store
- Elvis, about Elvis Presley, available on Sky Store
- Rocketman, about Elton John, available on Sky Store
- I Wanna Dance with Somebody, about Whitney Houston, available on Sky Store
- Respect, about Aretha Franklin, , available on Sky Store
- Monsieur Aznavour, about Charles Aznavour, available on Sky Store
- Bob Marley : One Love, available on Sky Store
And it’s nowhere close to and end, as we’re going to discover in theaters in the next few months Michael, the first biopic about Michael Jackson, that will hit theaters beginning of 2026. Later in 2027 or 2028 will come The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, a 4 films project about The Beatles, directed by Sam Mendes (Skyfall), starring Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
That trend also spread out on series. Based on the same material than the iconic 1984 film, Amadeus is a 5-part series revolving around the infamous Mozart/Salieri rivalry, exclusively available on Sky Show as of December 21st, 2025.
For as long as fandom exists, you can expect musical biopics to keep on flourishing !
